easily distracted by music. I like silence, and only listen to music when doing something with it.
I also like to be aware of what is happening in my home; w/o music on, I can tell you roughly what
every housemate is doing in the house. This sets my mind at ease, allowing me to relax into focus.
Also, low-pitched white-noise helps the world melt away if I want to feel like no-one else is around.
Munching really does help me focus; finding healthy munchies has been key to my focus/memory recall.
When I need to remember something that I studied a week ago while eating strawberries, I think of (or
eat, if possible) strawberries and the memory/information crystallizes. It's amazing how using my other
senses has helped my memory recall. (I have spent periods of my life blind, so I have used my other senses
to cope in many ways with my various issues. Also, this has helped me recover after a coma.)
My brain and bod have been thru a lot; I won't bore you with the saga, but I would share some of my tips.
I have worked with children with many disabilities/differences, mental and physical; mostly mental.
I have found that food plays a major role in focus, especially the composition/quality of the food.
Protein generally helps focus, both short and long term. Grain is fine in small amounts over a long
period of time, but fruit/veggies/nuts make for better snacks consumed at once or in large amounts.
Dairy can often aggravate mood/emotional issues, tho in small amounts it can be calming. The source
of dairy also seems to be worth considering. Goat/sheep milk seems to have less of an impact. Also,
For some who have certain allergies, small amounts of cheese/yogurt seem to reduce those symptoms.
Keeping the blood-sugar relatively stable really seems to help many kids in many areas of activity.
Sweet drinks, carbonated drinks, and energy drinks usually make things more complicated, not always.
Getting enough water is very important, except that frequent trips to the bathroom can kill focus.
Timing water consumption can be tricky, but it can be done. Timing meals is equally important. Take
the time to know how each food affects you and those you love; my notes are generalizations, and may
not be true to each person. I, for example, need coffee to increase my cortisol levels; most people
have cortisol levels too high without any help from coffee. Most people are calmed by eating poultry;
thanksgiving is guaranteed to make me violently sick. I have balanced my hormones and brain chemistry
holistically, food being the main focus. I am not saying that everyone can become med-free by eating a
certain way, I am simply saying that what we eat and when we eat can be a tool to use in managing ADHD.
I also have used smell and colour to assist in focus. Either with soap or dryer sheets or essential oil,
I have had school/study/work clothes scented differently than play/fun clothes. I discovered this as a
helpful trick when I was sightless and used to wash different coloured clothing with different scented
dryer sheets so I could smell the colour that I was wearing. I find that some kids behave differently
when inundated with certain colours. You can't assume that blue will affect everyone the same way; find
out if there is a colour that might be a useful tool? Or, try to create a tool out of a colour by repeatedly
using it for the same activity. I like to write creatively on purple paper or with a purple pen. Math/physics
in blue. Biology/health on yellow or with sunny colours. I dress in black for dancing. You get the gist...
OH, one more thing, no commercial TV/radio. I know that's a toughie, but I really believe that the commercial
breaks train the mind to only focus for limited stretches of time, not to mention the various mixed messages
they can impart on an impressionable person. Most TV shows can be rented/bought nowadays. When I did watch
TV with kids, I would keep their mind on the show by engaging them in conversation about the show during the
commercial, while turning the TV off/down for those few minutes. Some folks focus better with a TV on in the
background... it doesn't need to have commercial breaks to be a background focusing tool; better without 'em.
Just thought to add some of my less conventional tips in case someone here might find them useful...
Edited by NomDeKeyz, 29 October 2009 - 06:08 AM.
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